Because It's There: The Experience - Day 10 - The Return Journey

11/28/16, “The Return Journey”

En route, NYC Taxi 2A79

Well, after three countries and their national capitals, an Olympic Stadium, a Natural Wonder of the World, and thirteen World Heritage Sites, I am back in the good ole US of A.  I survived, “Because It’s There: The Experience”, as I’ve been calling it.  I am home with access to all the comforts and cuisine I have come to associate with New York.  I have missed it.  As amazing as the trip was, it’s called “home, sweet home” for a reason, and I am certainly glad to be home.  All that remains at this point is to recount the events of the Return Journey.

After I closed on Banana Island, I walked to the boat dock, where I boat was waiting, and took the boat back to the mainland.  I walked to the hotel, instantly regretting it, due to the streets and sidewalks still being wet, and the puddles having absorbed raw building materials, such as cement.  I was glad to be wearing my flip flops, and I knew that my cargo pants would need a thorough washing before being worn again.  I got to my hotel without trouble and retrieved my luggage, bringing everything into the bathroom so that I could change into my travelling suit.

When I was ready, I took the house car to the airport, and the driver tried to scam me.  It seems that this is a thing in this region, and I was constantly met with attempted scams by drivers during my time in Dubai.  I handed him a large banknote for almost twice the quoted amount for the ride, and he said thank you, not even asking if I wanted change.  When I asked for my change, he tried to charge me slightly more than original quoted price, and I told him the price I had been quoted, but now he said he didn’t have the right change.  The difference was minimal, and I was tired of arguing, so I let it go.  I went to check in, and I was told to go one place to get my boarding pass, so I waited on line there.  After it was my turn, the agent there told me that the US check-in was on the other side.  Fortunately, there was no line there.

Emigration controls, however, did have quite a line, and security was immediately thereafter.  I still had plenty of time.  I saw the iconic stuffed bear statue of the airport and made my way to Duty-free, where I got another box of cigars and a present for my father.  From there, I proceeded to the smoking room, which was completely crowded and smoke-filled to the point where I could barely breathe.  Eventually, a seat was free, and I got situated and proceeded to light up my 2015 Christmas Pipe and write the second part of that entry.

After I closed, I headed to the gate, which necessitated another (slow) security screening for US departures, which also assuaged my fears from earlier about them not doing any other type of security controls at DOH for arriving passengers who had connections.  Soon enough it was time to board, and I found myself seated next to two Indian-American (not Native American) girls.  In fact, people of Indian ethnicity seemed to make up a majority of the flight.  That was odd.  Doesn’t Delhi have direct flights to JFK?  Or were they from cities far away from Delhi where DOH was the easiest connection?  I don’t know.

I fell asleep almost immediately, waking up in time for the snack, which was chicken sandwich and a muffin.  It was good, and I was awake now, so I watched a movie, settling on an old favorite: WALL-E.  I still maintain it is the best Pixar movie of all time, and I loved it as much as I did the first dozen times I’ve seen it.  It’s the kind of movie that never gets old.

After the movie, I went back to sleep, waking up in time for breakfast.  The flight was about 14 hours, but it went by quickly enough.  As we were making our descent, I realized that I had not been woken up once by the girls wanting to go to the bathroom, nor had I seen them get up during my bathroom breaks.  I had the aisle seat.  That was odd.  Did they climb over me while I was asleep?  Did they time their bathroom breaks with mine without me seeing them?  Or did they simply hold it in for 14 hours?  This was getting curiouser and curiouser.

Anyway, we soon landed, and it was in Terminal 7, an unfamiliar terminal for me.  There was no line at border control, and I went to Global Entry.  The only wait was for my bag, which took about 15 agonizing minutes.  After I had my bag, I cleared Customs with no questions and then went outside to the taxi line.  There was no line there either.  I got in the taxi, and, once were on the highway, I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish before I get to the office, along with closing out this trip.  Next stop: Blue Mountain National Park in Jamaica.